Sixth YearorNero's Story
by The Stoned Fish
Summary: This is the story of a boy named Nero, a girl named Edward, and how they deal with the stress of all of this Chamber of Secrets business. Ravenclaw will never be the same.
1. Chapter 1

Sixth Year

Chapter 1

Or

The time when Nero beats up that Slytherin kid

Author's note;

This is the story of Nero White, a sixth year Ravenclaw boy from Detroit, MI, Edward Shanx, a fifth year Ravenclaw girl from Dublin, Ireland, and all of these other characters in which do not need to be mentioned as of right now. This story takes place in what will be Harry Potter's second year, so as of right now, tensions are running high between the houses, people are being petrified in the halls of the school, and all sorts of foul things are going on within the castle. Let's watch!

Nero was walking through the dimly lit corridor towards the Ravenclaw common room. Well, walking isn't quite so accurate a word. Nero was _stalking _toward the dorm. He had seen some movement in front of him about thirty paces. Movement that had quickly ducked behind a gargoyle at the sight of him. Suspicious.

He snubbed the cigarette that he was puffing on, (yes, Nero was a smoker) and crept towards the suspicious subject that he had seen. He reached the gargoyle that he had seen the figure dart behind. As he rounded the thing, the figure jumped at him, wand at the ready. Nero was not going to have that. Without a moment's hesitation, his hand had become a fist and jabbed straight out, hitting the boy in the solar plexus. Pain shot through the boy's tiny frame. He dropped to his knees, gasping for air, dropping his wand. Nero chuckled despite himself; he hadn't hit anybody in quite a while.

The next thing that happened was a blur. The small boy recovered faster than expected and picked his wand back up, but Nero was on him faster that anyone could have anticipated. He had the boy off his feet and up against a wall almost instantly. Nero relieved the boy of his wand and through it down the hall. Nero's face was inches from the boy's. The sun was setting, casting strange, elongated shadows on the boy's face. It was apparent that he was afraid, and also that this evening wasn't going as planned.

"So, kid," Nero said to the boy, in no more than a whisper, "you must be a second or third year, so I can forgive you this once."

"Forgive me for what?" the boy spat back in his face.

"Oh, for threatening me. Now, I'm, only going to ask you this once: what were you doing down here?"

"Uh…I was, uh…" the boy was choking on his words.

"You were _lurking_, why?" Nero replied, so much venom in his voice that it surprised even him.

"I was waiting for somebody!" the boy was nearly in tears now.

"Ah, and who might that be?" Nero's tone was a bit softer now. He wasn't a bully; he wasn't in this to make the kid cry. He just didn't like lurking Slytherins.

"Uh, someone." The kid replied.

A noise down the hall made them both jump. The noise was footsteps, followed by an angry girl's voice.

"Nero! Put him down!" shouted the voice.

"Well, I…oh, hi Eddy!" Nero replied nervously. Eddy was the only person he feared in the entire school. Not because she was stronger or better than him, but because he loved her, although she didn't know it, and he didn't want to screw that up. The small boy fell to the floor with a thump.

"Now, you," Nero said, pointing at the boy, "get lost, and I don't want to see you down Ravenclaw again! Understood?"

The boy got up and started to run back the way he came. Nero kicked him in the backside, yelling "Run, Forest, run!"

The boy ran, tripping as he bent to grab his abandoned wand.

Nero chuckled despite himself again, watching the spectacle that was the boy running down the hall. He cast his gaze on Eddy. She was not amused.

"You want to tell me what the _fuck _that was about?" she said. Eddy only ever cursed when she was angry, so Nero knew she was pissed.

"Share a smoke with me and I'll tell you what happened. And stop glowering at me." Nero replied, trying to redeem himself. This was going to be a long night.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Or

The Time When Nero Almost Dies

Author's note;

I have a nasty habit of not going into what my characters look like, so here is a very brief description of what you've seen so far.

Nero; roughly 6'0 tall, spindly, shoulder length hair (color varies dependant on mood), lightish skin, brown eyes, usually has a band shirt on underneath his robes. A smoker.

Edward; roughly 5'2 tall, relatively skinny, but still curvy, waist length red hair, pale, freckled, Irish skin, green eyes. Also a smoker.

The Slytherin boy; roughly 4'10, skinny, awkward looking, short black hair, darkish skin, blue eyes.

Well, that's that.

Two days after Nero had had his run in with the little Slytherin boy, Eddy was still angry with him. He hadn't been able to explain that away, no matter how hard he had tried. He was in the blackest of foul moods. This morning didn't seem to be going any better than the last had. How upsetting.

To start off the day, Nero had woken up nearly an hour later than he usually did, which gave him about four minutes to rush his way across the castle. He had been nearly ten minutes late for Defense Against the Dark Arts, which was his worst subject, he showed up hungry, and aggravated. The smug look on Eddy's face wasn't helping his cause at all. He pulled himself a nice hour-and-a-half detention session. He glowered at Eddy, when this happened.

He went to his next three classes without incident, he and Eddy had made a compromise; she wouldn't be angry at him any more if he found and apologized to the Slytherin boy. He hated this, but he accepted. After his last class, which was potions, another thing that he hated, he grabbed his trusty Atreyu knapsack, which he hauled everything around in, and trekked his way up to his impending detention. He was brooding and mumbling profanity the entire journey.

When he got to the top hallway, he stopped to look at his watch. Muggle technology was still so convenient. It was still fifteen minutes until his scheduled detention, so he decided to have a smoke. As he sat, enjoying the euphoric feeling of the nicotine which was now entering his veins, he heard a sound. The sound turned out to be a conversation. He listened in. the conversation went something like this; "where is he? You said he would be here for detention!" voice number on said, sounding furious. "He will be here, I promise." Voice two said. Voice two sounded suspiciously like Eddy. The plot was thickening.

As Nero sat there, contemplating what could be going on here, his watch beeped quietly. He only had three minutes to get to his detention. He went around the conversation.

His detention went smoothly, if not absolutely boring, so he really had nothing to worry about, he just had to promise that he wouldn't be late again. A promise easily kept. He exited the classroom, waiting to get out of smelling range to light up a cigarette, when the Slytherin boy stepped out in front of him.

"Oh…hi." Nero said, hating himself for what he was about to do.

"Hello, Nero." The Slytherin boy sounded smug, confident. Nero was instantly suspicious. In Detroit, suspicion like this keeps you alive.

"Because of yesterday's…incident, I am going to assume that you do not know who I am." The boy went on, twiddling his thumbs slightly. Nero began to twitch his fingers near his wand.

"You are right, I don't know who you are, but I was going to apologize for yesterday, so…I'm sorry." Nero could hear the nervousness in his voice. This was stupid, this was just a little kid.

"Oh, well, apology accepted. But my name is Virgil. Virgil Faust. Does that mean anything to you?" the boy went on to say. All Nero could do was wonder what the bruise on Virgil's chest felt like right now.

"Ah, well, seeing as how it is your name, it does mean something to me." This seemed to be a safe answer. He didn't know whose toes he was stepping on.

"Good answer, but, I have too many friends in high places to just get beat up. You need to learn some respect for your superiors, you mudblood filth." The boy began to smile. Just then, two larger boys stepped out from behind the doors a little further down the hall. This wasn't going to end well.

Many things happened rather simultaneously. Nero dodged out of the way of a jet of blue flame, the boy Virgil started shouting in tongues, and the other boy was soundproofing the area magically. Nero started firing hexes back towards all three adversaries with wild disregard. It was at this moment that this whole situation could get him kicked out. Not good. He put his wand to his throat, amplifying his voice sevenfold.

"Hey!" his voice nearly deafened him in the small corridor. Everyone looked at him in awe. His voice shrank back to normal. "Why don't we stop firing spells, and settle this in Detroit style?"

"What's that supposed to mean?" Virgil asked, panting.

"No wands, no magic. The epitome of 'Use Your Fist, Not Your Mouth.' How does that sound?"

"Sounds good. Let's do this, Grey." One of the bigger boys, who was not Grey, agreed to the terms. That was more like it.

Grey moved in first, flailing wildly, he had never done this before. Nero took him out with a carefully placed series of punches. The other boy came in shortly after. He was a little more prepared. Nero was taken to the ground, gasping for air. Nero placed an elbow in the back of this boy's neck, he fell on him like a sack of oranges. After he heaved the boy's bulk off of him, he turned on Virgil.

"So, Virgil," Nero said, the air of menace in his voice was on purpose this time, "how are we going to settle this now?"

"_Expelliarmus!"_ Virgil launched an orange light at him. The light hit Nero in the chest, but it was to no avail.

"Virgil, I'm not armed. I'm just going to beat you to death with my fist, not a wand." Nero took off his cloak, revealing the Slipknot shirt he had on underneath it. Virgil took off running after that.

That was a pain in the ass. Nero grabbed his cloak, his wand, and is satchel, and went o back towards Ravenclaw.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three

-or-

The Time When Nero Makes A Mistake

Author's note;

Mrs. Norris has been petrified, tensions are running break-neck now, and Nero has had a few more run-ins with Virgil and his 'friends'. Life is getting complicated for everyone. Lets watch.

Nero descended he stairs from his bedroom. Ravenclaw common room was nearly devoid of life. The only other being besides our hero, was a fluffy white cat, perched on the back of a chair. This is how it usually was a 2 a.m. on Saturday mornings. This was Nero's time of peace.

Nero lit a smoke while walking down the corridor, puffing on it gently, the orange cherry the only light that was to be seen in this part of the castle. Two ghosts, immersed in conversation floated on by him, giving that tingly spine feeling that only a ghost could truly produce. Nero loved that felling, and thus loved the ghosts. He pondered the events of the past few days, but mostly the writing on the wall. He had nearly decked the Slytherin kid who had starting spouting off about 'Mudbloods and Squibs'. Some things just weren't said.

As nero rounded the corner down the spiral steps toward the astronomy hallway, a first year girl was coming from the other way.

"Hey, Luna." Nero said quietly, his voice still echoing maddeningly.

"Hi, Saylock." she responded in her airy, knowing voice. "Not that I approve of smoking, but if you have to, be careful. Both teachers and ghosts are on the watch for students and...other things." Luna replied, eyeing him in an uncomfortable way. Her voice was even more creepy than it usually was when she mentioned 'other things'.

"Thanks, Luna. I'll keep a lookout." Nero replied back, again trying to whisper.

"Okay," she said with a slight smile, "enjoy that." she said, gesturing vaguely toward the still burning cigarette, her milky eyes glowing orange, reflecting the smoke.

"Bye."

After thinking a little about how much he loved talking to Luna, his mind began to wander back to more sinister subjects. For starters, he knew that he had been muggle-born, and he knew that, when it came right down to it, he didn't know how to fend off powerful dark magic. After all, he was failing Defense Against the Dark Arts. He also knew that very soon, just in case something did happen to him, that he would have to tell Eddie how he felt. Tonight was the night.

Nero snubbed his cigarette just before he lifted the tapestry behind which the door to Ravenclaw common room stood. He entered silently, as he always did. Luna was still up, reading from some large volume by the dim light of the dying fire.

"Go to bed, kid." Nero told her, tousling her long, white-blonde hair as he walked behind her. "Or at least get some better light, you're going to go blind in here."

"Well, I was just about to head that way, when I decided to wait for you." she replied, closing the book with an audible 'thud'.

"Why were you waiting for me?" Nero replied, not sure of what to make of the small girl who seemed to know more than she should at all times.

"Well, I was thinking about you and Edward, and about how you love her, but she doesn't know it. I was going to ask you if you wanted me to tell her. Do you?"

Nero had to take some time to recover from this. This girl was 11, how could she spot out something he'd been trying to hide for four years? "Uh...why would you think that?" he asked her, not wanting to know the answer.

"Saylock, I'm not stupid. I know what love looks like." she replied matter-of-factly. "Oh, and don't worry, nobody else can see it. I'm just smart for my age."

"Oh...well, thanks, but I'll tell her."

"Oh, good. She's kind of stupid when it comes down to what's right in front of her face." Luna replied, yawning slightly.

"Thanks, Luna. You're like the little sister I never had."

"You are most welcome, Nero. You are like the older brother I never wanted. 'Night." and with that, she dissapeared up the stairs.

Nero sat down in his favorite chair and slowly, deliberately folded a paper crane. This was one of his favorite tricks. He muttered a spell into the thing, and sent it flying up the stairs toward the girls' rooms. This was the way he had always gotten Eddie out of bed. Seconds later he heard her coming down the stairs. His heart was racing. The fire was nearly nothing but embers now, but he could make out her green eyes.

"Nero, what's this about?" her voice, half-asleep as it was, still sounding melodious.

"Hey, I just..." he was stumbling, he felt like an idiot, he knew that if this was to happen, it better happen fast. "I just...this." he finally spit out. Seconds later, he had his lips pressed up against hers. She tasted so sweet. The kiss was gentle and quick, but it got his point across.

"There, that's all." He felt light-headed.

"Well," she replied, obviously taken aback. He realized that she had her arms wrapped around him. She unwound them. "Nero, I think, as sweet as that was, and as much as I enjoyed it, I can't say it was mine. You need to do that to the other sister." Marleux replied.

"What?" was all that Nero could muster. He understood. Marleux. Edward's twin sister. The paper crane had gone to the wrong sister.

Marleux must have recognized the look of melancholy plastered on Nero's face, because she wrapped her arms back around him.

"Don't worry," she said, kissing him gently again. "I won't breathe a word of this, just, correct it when you have the chance." her tone had become playful, toying even. "Good night, Nero." she kissed him again, unwrapped her arms, and went back up the stairs.

Nero couldn't move. Nero couldn't breathe or speak. He had wasted all of his courage on the wrong twin. He had kissed the wrong twin.

"Shit!" he exclaimed, mostly to himself, but also the world. "I need another smoke."


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four

-or-

The time when Nero's life starts to get a little bit better

Author's note;

Nero's life isn't going really any better...The Marleaux situation has made things harder for his dorm life, she was constantly glancing at him knowingly, and he thought about her so much that it seemed obsessive, the Virgil situation has made things harder for his castle roaming life, the little bastard had been beefing up his forces and now Nero was getting jumped by five guys instead of three, and the continued petrification of a cat and a student has made everyone's social life harder...this all bodes ill for our boy. Let's watch!

"Fuck. Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck. Dammit, shit, fuck, piss!" Nero said angrily under his breath.

"Would you like to repeat that for the _entire_ class, Mister White?" Professor Snape hissed in Nero's ear.

"Shit!" Nero jumped, nearly spilling the caldron of smoldering goop that he had been cursing at just moments before. The potion was going all wrong. It should have been a smooth, thick, yellow liquid. Nero's was a smoking, roiling mass of blue putty. "Sorry, Professor. I obviously did something wrong..." Nero trailed off. He absolutely _detested _when Snape, or anyone, for that matter, looked over his shoulder while he was doing something. Especially if they had snuck up on him as Snape had.

"Obviously." Snape repeated; the air of superiority in his voice had reached a maddening level today. "You added much too much worm's root. An infant could prepare this potion, why can't you?" Snape whispered into Nero's ear, his right hand slithering onto Nero's notes, which he promptly snatched off of Nero's desk. "Your problem is right here, Mister White." Snape said, gesturing at one line on the piece of parchment he was holding. Nero glanced at it. The line read "4 seven inch long cuts of worm's root" Nero did not see the problem, but his measurements were wrong, as Snape had so clearly made apparent.

"Ah. What was that measurement supposed to be?" Nero hated to ask, but if he had not, Snape would have made an example of him, as he had done so many times in the past, gesturing the whole class toward his caldron, explaining how "this potion is exemplifying how to make it wrong." Nero hated this man. With a passion.

"It should have been four _one _inch lengths of worm's root. Can you not read, boy?" Snape replied back venomously.

Swallowing his pride, Nero bit his tongue against the foul thing his was about to say, and simply replied "I just read it wrong. _Sir._"

"You must have. Clean this travesty up and start again." And with that, Snape stalked off across the room to harass someone else.

Nero, with a sweep of his wand, disposed of the disgusting blue lump. His caldron, clean now, was again prepped for a fresh potion. Nero began to add ingredients again.

After another potion, and another hour and a half, potions was over. Thankfully. His last class on a Friday. Thank God. He stomped back up towards Ravenclaw.

Nero, his mood foul, his thoughts black, and his stomach empty, was just itching for someone to hit. Someone to provoke him. This was the only day that he had wished that Virgil and his ever expanding gang of thugs would jump out from behind a corner. When they did not, Nero just slumped up to his room restlessly.

He had been laying in bed for about four hours, not even changing out of his class uniform into his trade mark band shirt and faded blue jeans. He vaguely realized that the sun had sank to below the murky sliver of horizon that he could see from his facedown position. He had probably missed supper. How midly upsetting. A listless looking paper crane floated it's way onto his pillow. It cocked its head as if it were actually looking at him.

"Hello, little birdie. Who sent you?" Nero asked the paper bird as if it were actually going to reply.

"Nero, this is Marleaux. We need to talk." The bird sang in a flaring Irish accent, tilting its head slightly before bursting into flames and reducing itself to ash on his pillow. The ash then quickly dissolved, leaving no trace of having ever been there. That was a nifty trick. The cranes that he made he usually just wrote his messages on, and they didn't include pyrotechnics.

Nero had been taken aback by the crane's speech and explosion, but even more so by its message. Why did Marleaux want to talk to him?

"Fuck." Nero said glumly. He had been hoping that this exact thing wouldn't happen for fear that Marleaux might ask something impossible of him. He got changed into his favorite jeans and his _Children of Bodom_ shirt and stalked back down the stairs.

Marleaux was waiting for him. On the surface, she and Eddy looked exactly the same. Except for their eyes and their hair. Where Eddy's were pale green, and her hair a dusky shade of orange, Marleaux's were deepest violet, and her hair was a dark, extravegant maroon. Marleaux may have also been a little better endowed physically, but Nero had never seen either of them naked, so he couldn't quite tell. But under they're looks; Marleaux and Eddy were two severely different people.

Eddy was sweet, honest, kind and generally a sickeningly good person. That may have been the reason that Nero felt such a strong attraction to her. She was his negative. Marleaux, on the other hand, was a bad ass. She was weird, and punky, and kind of cruel in her own right. And the more he got to know her, the more Nero felt an immense attraction for her, too. He was torn between two twins. Nero had been thinking that this may have been history's most fucked up situation.

Marleaux looked amazing today. She was wearing a tauntingly short plaid skirt. So short that one would never expect the wearer to have a _thought_ of bending in any direction. Beneath that were a pair of worn, ripped, falling apart fishnet stockings, which Marleaux had tactfully put over a pair of black and white striped leggings. And over those, she had a dangerous looking pair of buckle bound, knee-high boots. A raggedy, cut off white tank top was slung tightly around her chest. Her mid section was exposed between the skirt and the tank top. Her waist length marron hair was tied up in ridiculously long pigtails. Nero was perplexed. Marleaux looked as if she would fit in better at Sex Pistols concert than within the walls of the castle.

"You ready?" she asked Nero, seemingly uncharacteristically bouncy today.

"...Yeah, I guess." Nero replied. Marleaux headed towards the common room exit into the hallway. They had to sneak past some ghosts, and wind around places they knew teachers would be posted.

Once they were out in the corridor, every time Nero asked where they were going, Marleaux would just giggle madly. She was acting very strange today.

He followed her down the hall, and up several flights of winding stairs. She was taking him to a part of the castle that he had never seen before. Intrigued, he paid attention and made mental notes. There were very few parts of the castle he hadn't explored in his tenure.

After what seemed an eternity of heading steadily upwards, they finally reached a small landing with one door on it. Marleaux, who had been wearing a chain around her neck, reached into her cleavage and produced a small, brass key. She opened the door. Nero followed her in.

Nero marveled at what he saw inside the room. It was a small chamber, about the size of a community bathroom, but it was stuffed with huge, squishy, two person chairs and there were a few tables scattered around with ashtrays sitting on them. The carpeting was soft and spongy, as if it were made of lush grass. The walls were painted in every pleasant shade of blue, red and green imaginable. High, steeped, gothic looking windows covered an entire wall. The room was beautiful. And it looked as if it had been made to relax and enjoy a smoke in.

It was also very empty.

"Marleaux," Nero started, "what is this place, and how did you find it?"

"Oh, it was sort of given to me by a Gryffindor boy in my third year." She said nonchalantly, as if this happened to every third year girl. She tossed one of her obscene pigtails over her shoulder. Nero was thinking about how Marleaux Shanx might be the sexiest, most lustful creature alive.

"Nice! So…what did you want to talk to me about, exactly?" Nero replied, taking a smoke from his pack.

"Well, I just wanted to know if you had feelings for me. I know that we've had our little exchanges over the past few weeks after you kissed me…I was just wondering if you wanted to take those somewhere." Marleaux replied, lighting a cigarette of her own.

"I thought it might be something like that." Nero said, furrowing his brow. He had no idea how to proceed. On the one hand, Marleaux was gorgeous, smart, and they did have a lot in common. But on the other hand; Edward. The girl of his dreams.

"Well, what do you want to do? I'd really like to have a thing with you. I know how much you love my sister, but…" Marleaux said, casting her head down at the end.

"…I don't know, Mari. I do love your sister, and eventually I'd like to tell her so, but as of right now, I guess we could have a thing. As long as nobody knows about it. Is that okay?" Nero replied, thinking this entire thing over very carefully. He took another puff of his cigarette.

"I didn't want anybody to know anyway. It'd be easier on Eddy that way anyway." She said, stepping closer to one of the many love-seats that lined the walls.

"True." Nero breathed, saying it mostly to himself. He took another drag off of his smoke, and crossed the room. Standing right in front of Marleaux, he realized that she was about an inch taller than her sister. "It's the boots." he though stupidly to himself. His brain seemed to be moving much slower than his body. Unexpectedly, Marleaux fell backward onto one of the couches, pulling Nero down on top of her. His face was less than an inch from hers. He could feel her tiny, rapid breaths on his lips, and smell the very subtle perfume she was wearing. He closed his eyes and kissed her lips very gently, barely brushing his lips against hers. When he did this, a small portion of his hair fell over one of his eyes. Somewhere in his mind, the thought wandered by as to why it had gone from black, which is what it was normally, to fire-engine red.

Nero lifted up his head, looking into Marleaux's violet eyes, which had widened considerably. She was so beautiful. This was the only thing his brain registered at the moment. But Nero already knew that, and wished his brain would just go take a hike.

"What happened to your hair?" Marleaux asked, a wondering smile spreading slowly across her face, lighting up her features. Nero had the creeping suspicion that she didn't care and was just trying to make conversation for some reason.

"It happens." Nero replied rather dully. Realizing the look of questioning still covering Marleaux's face, he realized his answer had been stupidly vague. "Oh, I'm a metamorphmagus. I can usually control it, but when my instincts take over, my hair changes accordingly with the mood." Nero finished, forcing his brain to turn back on. After the reply, it promptly shut itself back off. "Good," Nero thought, leaning down to kiss her again.

"That's so bad ass!" Marleaux whispered, her lips brushing against his as she did so.

Nero was still standing, awkwardly bent over the couch, leaning over Marleaux. His mind hadn't registered this yet, but hers had. "Get down here!" Marleaux whispered, wrapping her wrists around the back of his neck and pulling him down between her legs. Nero had no problem with this. Marleaux pulled Nero's mouth into hers, kissing him in violent passion. Nero had never met a girl like this before. She was aggressive, dominant, and extremely sure of herself. He liked it.

As nimbly as he could, Nero flipped Marleaux over him. She was now straddling him. "Perfect." Nero thought. Marleaux was smiling like mad as she bent down to viciously assault him with another battery of kisses. Nero met her halfway down, catching her by the back of the head. He pulled her hair from behind, forcing her head back so he could kiss her neck. She giggled at this, breathing heavily. She wriggled out of Nero's grasp so she could lean back. With a laugh, Marleaux pulled the white tank top over her head, revealing her flat, toned stomach and her red and black plaid bra. "It matches her skirt!" Nero's brain decided to randomly add. He chuckled.

"Yummy," Nero hissed, examining the perfect body on top of him. He could tell he was getting to her by her shallow, ragged breathing. He watched as her large breasts heaved up and down on her chest. "It's everything I thought it would be."

"Really?" Marleaux replied, seeming proud of herself. "I'm glad to hear that." And with that, she stretched her shirt over his eyes and kissed him again.

Nero quickly ripped the shirt from off of his face. He ran his hands behind her back and down to her hips. Being a gentleman, Nero decided that he'd ask before he removed the final, flimsy article of clothing.

"May I?" He inquired, his right hand slithering to the clasp of her plaid bra.

"Hhhm…let me think…I don't know about it, Nero. What have you done to earn it?" Marleaux asked him in a taunting sort of voice.

"Not a damn thing. But it's not about that. It's what I could do…" Nero replied, fingering the clasp.

"I won't give you that satisfaction." Marleaux said, as she undid the clasp that Nero had not seen on the front. The bra fell open, revealing her breasts. All Nero could do was stare.

Some time later, Nero and Marleaux lay on the couch. Their breathing had returned to normal by this time, and both of them were enjoying a cigarette. Nero was lying behind Marleaux, his left arm under her neck, his right draped over her waist. He kissed her gently on the cheek.

"Thank you, Nero." Marleaux said, dragging on her cigarette.

"For what?" Nero replied, running his right hand idly over Marleaux's protruding hip bone and stomach.

"For accepting my proposal for a...whatever is it that we decide to call this. I really like you…" she replied.

"Oh. You're welcome, then. I've been thinking about this for a while, too, so…" Nero trailed off his sentence, taking another pull from his cigarette.


End file.
